After recapturing 145 title, champ Patricio Freire wants Bellator 155 champ Chandler next

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Patricio Freire got the featherweight title back on Friday night at Bellator 178. Now he wants to get greedy.

“Pitbull” Freire (26-4 MMA, 14-4 BMMA) said after his second-round submission win over champ Daniel Straus (24-7 MMA, 11-4 BMMA) in their tetralogy fight that he’s now got his sights set on lightweight champion Michael Chandler – a man he and his brother Patricky have beef with.

“I don’t care about this belt,” Freire said backstage after Bellator 178, which took place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., with a main card on Spike. “To me, that’s just a piece of tin. All I want is to tear (Chandler’s) head off.

“Bellator knows that. Four years ago, I told them from 135 to 170, I can fight anyone. I’m ready. Bellator gives the people what they want, and the people want that fight – so let’s do it.”

Michael Chandler vs. Patricky Freire

This past June, Chandler took out Patricky Freire in the Bellator 157 main event in St. Louis, Mo. (Check out the video highlights from that fight below.) That’s part of the reason Patricio takes some issue with the lightweight champ.

But the other stems from comments Chandler made about the Freires in general.

“(Grudges are) part of the sport – it happens,” Patricio Freire told MMAjunkie on Friday night. “But during the press conference, he said he could stop my entire family on the same night. So he’ll have to prove that in the cage.”

Chandler (16-3 MMA, 13-3 BMMA) already has a lightweight title defense lined up against Brent Primus (7-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) when Bellator returns to pay-per-view in June at Madison Square Garden in New York City. So if Freire truly is set on getting his hands on him, it appears he’ll have to wait a while.

And if he wants a shot at a second concurrent belt, he’ll have to hope Chandler wins.

On Friday, he believes he may have showed the Bellator brass and the fans he’s rejuvenated and the type of fighter who should be granted a shot at a title in another division.

“I just want to break records,” he said. “I’m very happy – Daniel Straus is a very tough fighter, but I’m tired of fighting him. So I came here to put an end to this (rivalry). I came here to showcase something different, as I said I would – and here we are. I have the belt again. … Daniel Straus is a good fighter, and I think it was more my merit than his mistake. Now I have 10 submissions, so I need to get my knockouts up to 10, as well.”

For more on Bellator 178, check out the MMA Events section of the site.